Steven Hood and his Merry Gems
by Pirate Lapis
Summary: Steven is the son of the infamous Rose Hood, who stole from the rich and gave to the poor. With both of his parents dead, and Sheriff Yellow Diamond of Nottingham going to destroy his home, Steven does the only thing he can think of. He's going to get the merry band back together. Will update every two weeks. Will have some romance.
1. Steven

Sorry, not much magic. Curse words and sexual themes.

Once upon a time, a long time ago...

There was a boy named Steven Quartz Universe.

Steven was the son of Greg, the jack-of-all-trades. Greg could fix your cart. He could shoe your horse. He could be your bard, your minstrel, your tanner and your blacksmith. People generally liked him. Steven and him lived in the woods, next to a small lake, and lived happily and quietly.

Steven's mother had been very different. He barely remembered her (all he could really picture was the smell of roses and a mass of huge curls.), as she had died when he was 3, but what he'd heard from his father was that she was great. Stole from the rich to give to the poor, almost never got caught, and had the best fighting skills you've ever seen. A warrior descended from the likes of Arthur or Boudica, surely. There was even a ballad about her.

It was a cloudy but warm day when his Dad died. The first day of Spring. So Steven and Greg decided to go on a picnic. They had just caught a rabbit, and Steven was happily using his rabbit trimmed boots. They had packed some sheperd's pie, and were planning to catch some fish and go berry-picking. A perfect day.

Steven had been taking a swig of his water when a bolt went through Greg's heart.

Greg dropped the piece of pie he was eating, his eyes bulged slightly, giving a cry as he fell over, dead. Steven looked past his father's fallen form. A woman with yellow hair, on a palamino horse, cantered over. A lighter blonde was on a white, and she was smirking, from a distance.

"Oh, was he you father?" The woman grinned, shouldering her bow. Steven could only nod, wide-eyed. 'Well," she said, grinning truimphantly. "He was the husband of Rose Hood, the bane of my existence, AND a tax evader. Pay up now, or you'll die too." She said it simply, with no remorse.

Steven was shocked, and couldn't reply, until something got and sticky started warming his pant leg. The sensation of warm blood on his pants awoke his thoughts.

Steven knew that this woman was the sheriff of Nottingham. No one liked her. He could, perhaps, punch her, but she or her second-in-command, Yellow Pearl, would strike him dead before he could really do anything. He was a good fighter, but he had left his weapons at home. Even if he could reach them, they had long range weapons and the advantage of added height due to horses.

There wasn't much he could do.

"I have a good stallion and a jenny mule. Would that be okay?"

He couldn't let her take Lion. Lion was his nearly pink mule-horse hybrid, and was so odd looking that he'd be a valuable addition to a stuffed animal collection.

The sheriff tossed her head, mollified. "For now. We will discuss further compensation later." She flicked her hand at him. "Lead me to your hovel."

Steven ran quickly. He knew the horses would have trouble getting through the trees, so he hoped to get home before the sheriff and deputy could see Lion.

He reached his stable, where the herd was grazing. His mother's stallion, Robin, and his father's mule, Van, were in the outer field. Lion, their son, was luckily right by the stable.

Steven jumped over the fence, pulling his belt strap from his pants, and fastened it around Lion's muzzle. He knew it was cruel, but if Lion made a single noise, all could be lost. Lion was a miracle, after all. Not many mules could have children.

Swiftly leading him to the barn, he locked Lion up in his stall, and ran outside. The sheriff and her deputy hadn't arrived yet. He grabbed Robin and Van by their bridle, and put leads on both of them.

When the women grabbed his stallion and jenny, they sneered at him, and Yellow Diamond said,"Next time, I want 3000 guineas, not animals, nor things. You have three years." And they left, as quickly as they appeared.

Steven could only fall onto his knees and cry.

3000 guineas was no small amount. Steven and his father had made about 10 a year. And Steven didn't have 300 years. He had 3.

As Steven thought if ways to make money, he cut out a wooden plaque, after laying his father under many stones, next to his mother. It simply said Greg. He placed a pebble on top of eachq markers, and left to go to market.

Steven took with him many things, his books, the metalworks his father made, their furs, and his mother's dresses. He made 50 guineas. And that was all the things of value he had.

"Welp, least I made that. It's a start."

For the next 3 weeks, he tried his hand at being a minstrel. But most would not pay more than a guinea a gig, and soon his renditions of "If every porkchop was perfect, there'd be no sausages", "The ballad of Rose Hood" and "Giant Woman (in your bed)" were not paying enough for his food and shelter costs. So he turned back, with less money than he had when he started out on his venture. His spirit was still high, though. There may still be a chance.

A new idea had started forming in his head.

His mother's band had split up. It was said there were 4 other members. Ruby and Sapphire left early, sailing westward, where they had been heard last in Ireland. That was actually in the early years. Then there had been Pearl, his mother's right hand woman, who left right after his mother was courted by Greg. Steven didn't know why. And Amethyst.

Amethyst had actually lived with them, right until Steven was 13. Then she left. Amethyst and his Dad had wrote each other occasionally, and she lived in London, the City of Wonders. Maybe she could help him raise enough money. Perhaps he could find a job there.

On the way home, he stopped by his favorite bakery, The Big Fartura. It was run by his friends Sadie and Lars. Lars' family was orginally from Portugal, so they had a variety of baked treats.

Parking Lion outside, he strolled in, happy to get some farturas for on the way home. "Ho, Sadie!" he greeted the woman next to the oven.

'Ho, Steven!" she replied. "You want the usual?" He nodded yes. She got to work right away. "I'll be about an hour. You just leave Lion here. Take a stroll. Peedee will probably want to see you."

He payed her, and then went off around town. He stopped by Peedee and Ronaldo's Bar. Ronaldo, was, as usual, telling his fish stories to the children of the patrons, and Peedee was washing dishes. When Steven arrived, they bowed, and shook hands. Steven started helping with the dishes, and they were quiet for a while.

"So, how are you doing?"

"Okay. How's your father?"

"Still in prison. Last I saw of him, a week ago, they had used the cat-o'-nine-tails on his back. It was a little green."

"What did your dad do? Or rather, didn't do?"

"He was out after curfew, talking to someone they couldn't identify. A man with an eyepatch as a mustache."

Peedee talked so calmly, but Steven knew it was an act. They were silent again. Finally, handing Steven a dish, Peedee started a new topic.

"Hey, um, did you know that the sheriff is going to make an announcement today?"

"No, why?".

"Because I think she's going to say something important. About the forest."

After helping Peedee, and grabbing his farturas ad Lion, Steven travelled down to the Main Square.

Yellow Diamond was on her balcony, looking down at the people of the town. 'A sign of the summer to come, a warm summer breeze wafts through the air." She gestures out. Steven blows a raspberry. Peedee giggles. Others smile. Yellow Diamond doesn't notice. "It is April, so the sound and smells are coming to us again." Steven blows another one. Sadie, Lars, and a few others join in on the giggles. "The hot wet parts" Here Steven made a moaning sound that makes half of the crowd start giggling. The sheriff acts like she doesn't notice. "of summer are coming." He moans again, louder this time. The whole crowd is tittering. Steven didn't usually make rude jokes to that extent, but the sheriff deserved it.

After it quieted down again, Yellw Duamond frowned and then continued.

"Anyway, Princess Blue Diamond, my cousin, needs a break sometimes, from that nasty, pox-ridden city. She needs a hunting lodge. The Princess of Wales just has a ton of pressure she needs to let off, and coming here could be a release or her." This time Steven doesn't even have to make any noise, stinky, sexual, or otherwise. Everyone's mind was on the dirty side of things. Everyone was laughing.

Yellow Diamond was furious. "All of you, SHUT UP!' Steven was able to tell she was trying to find to whoever was making the jokes. He thought, 'Face it, lady. You have a ton of enemies in this town, and no one really likes the Princess, either.,

After several minutes, she gave up, and was silent for a while. "The princess is going to build a hunting lodge here, called the Cluster. That means that a lot of trees are going down, and you all will pay more taxes. If any of you have things there, you better move them, because we are taking it." Annoyed, she turned about-face and went through her curtains.

Steven could only think of one thing as he rode home that night. 'The Diamonds have taken everything I have.'

But when he and Lion got home, he had a new thought. 'I'm not going to let them.'

It was time to take out his sword and shield, and to find Amethyst.

Hello peeps! As usual, criticism is welcomed. :)

Explanation for some things.

There isn't a gender bias in this story. Also, I won't mention religion. Asia and Southern Africa are not unknown to Europeans, and so it is not completely unusual to find a non-European in this England. America, however, has not been officially discovered yet.

Blue Diamond is like Prince John, from Robin Hood.

Farturas are like Portugeuse donuts, from what I've heard.

Jenny mule = Girl mule.

Guinea = Probably like a fifty dollar bill in those times. I don't know exact conversion.

Mules can occasionally have children with donkeys or horses, and it is extremely rare. Lion, because I wasn't sure how to sneak a lion into 1300's England, is 3/4 horse and 1/4 donkey.

Next chapter is Connie. Even though Steven is trying to reach Amethyst.

Thanks! See you in two week's time!


	2. Connie

Chap 2

 **Sorry for being late! My little brother just got a puppy and we had to set up for him. He is so cute! His name's Jerry, and he looks to be a pittbull-golden retriever mix (a pittreiver? A goldbull?)**

 **Anyways, Thank you all very muchfor the reviews!**

 **I'm very sorry to have killed Greg so early in the story, but I needed to give Steven motivation to be angry. After all, Steven Hood is a moodier, older teenager who can sometimes be quite rude.**

 **I won't be able to add Old English because I feel like I wouldn't be able to do it correctly. Also, Peridot, and especially Lapis, will definetly appear later. in fact, I wrote this story just because i wanted to see Lapis in a certain occupation... You'll findo out in a few chapters.**

* * *

Instead of letting the government strip him of everything he loved, Steven had a plan.

'I'll overthrow it.

His father had described his mother's band as trustworthy and loyal. So Steven would re-gather them, perhaps get a few more people, and overthrow the Diamond line. 'After all, when had they ever given a fuck for the common people?' A few well-planned kidnappings, an exile or two, and he'd be in the gold.

"Steven started talking a loud. "It sounds sort of crazy, and honestly I would prefer to hang around in the forest and live quietly, but the Diamonds are ruining that. They ruin everyone's lives." He started yelling. "The people of England's rights have been trampled on too long. Maybe I'll do a better job as ruler!"

So Steven unearthed his mother's sword and shield, hidden in Lion's old stall. And then him and lion set out. He figured he'd first find Amethyst, as he at least knew what city she was in. In his dad's last letter to her, she was working in a restaurant. Steven didn't know exactly what she did, but apparently it paid enough for the letter to be sent with gold leaf designs around the edges and caviar stains in the middle.

It was a long ride to London. Sadie, whom he visited before leaving, had told him that he should go along the river that fed his lake, and when it forked, he should take the southern was May, and after a week Steven learned he was about a third of the way to go. He whooped for joy and started making a silly song to commemorate the occasion.

"Oh, it's the end of another day,  
I'm less far from London than I was yesterday,

"I'm going to London to see Amethyst and that's really cool,

I'm so excited I might explo-"

A scream cut him off. Steven looked towards its direction. In the river was a girl and a boat. The girl was not in the boat. In fact, her head was having trouble staying above the water.

Steven swung his leg over Lion's back, and jumped down. He found a large stick and jumped in, not bothering to strip. By the time he went into the river, she was already several yards downstream. But since he was a good swimmer, and wasn't swimming against the stream, he reached the drowning girl quickly, and handed the stick to her.

She clung to it desperately. Luckily, there was a pond that led off of it, and he swam over, tugging on the stick so she could follow. Steven and the girl made it to the bank, where she laid for a while, gasping. As she was drying off, Steven started to recognize her.

She had ridden through the town, with her mother, when he and his dad had been selling soaps made of beeswax and animal fat, and carriage cleanings. She was the daughter of the Indian ambassador, Priyanka Mahaswaren. Her name was Constance. She was born in England, though.

A few minutes later, Constance croaked out, "Thank you" and then closed her eyes. And started shivering.

"Oh shi...crap! You need warm clothes straight away. Is your house nearby?"

She opened one eye. "Don't you" she breathed "need your horse?"

"Nah. I'm sure he'll find me. Hop on my back."

She opened her other eye. "No thanks. I just need that stick. I'm not THAT weak." She huffed and puffed, and got up, stood for a moment, and then sat, exhausted. "Um..."

"How bout we sit for a while?" She nodded her head, and flopped on the ground. He squeezed the water out of his cape, laid it across her napping body, and started building a fire.

In the middle of trying to spear a fish, Constance came up behind Steven and tapped him on the shoulder. He dropped his makeshift spear and all the fish swam away, scared. He turned around.

"Thank you for saving me. I don't think I said that."

He just grinned. "Aw, it's ok. I'm Steven Universe. And you're Constance Mahaswaren, right?"

She let out a raspberry. "Only to the officials. I would prefer to be called Connie."

Steven shrugged. "Ok, Connie. So where's your house?"

"Oh, a few hills that way." She pointed to the other side of the river. Steven groaned.

After nearly an hour passing of the two trying to figure out how to get across the river without swimming, they gave up and went to search for dinner. There was only a little bit of daylight left, so they decided to just stay on their side of the river and eat dinner.

Connie found some strawberries, peaches, and grapes, in what looked like an abandoned garden. They were surprisingly early. So they ate those for dinner, conversing all the while.

Steven started. "I'm 17. How old are you?"

"15, soon to 16." She took a bite of strawberry. "What were you doing around here?"

"Oh, I'm just riding to my sort-of adoptive sister Amethyst in London." Steven thought Connie was a nice girl, but he wasn't sure if he was ready to tell her his idea yet. "What were you doing in the river?"

"My mother rarely lets me out of the house, because she thinks the sunlight weakens my eyes further. But today was cloudy, so she let me out on the boat to study the environment and animals. Unfortunately, it came loose from its mooring and I started floating downstream. I had thought I'd seen a long stick floating in the water, and, thinking I could use it to push myself to a bank, I leaned over to get it, but I fell out. And then you helped me."

When they finished their dinners, it was night. Lion came over and laid on the grass, allowing the two teens to curl up on his warm flanks. It was a warm and comfortable sleep.

In the morning, Steven caught a fish and they finished the fruit. Then they discussed the problem of getting her home.

"We could swim across, with me on a peice of wood again." Connie said.

""Yeah, but then we'd end up farther down the river before we finish crossing, and there are those cliffs and waterfalls over there. They'd be hard to climb up again."

"I could ride Lion. I saw him cross earlier, and he swims fast"

Steven's eyes lit up. "Yeah! And we could tie you to his back, so you don't fall off." He high-fived put their plan into action, and they made it safely across the guided their way to her house, and they laughed and talked. Steven would have called it very enjoyable if he hadn't been knocked out.

* * *

When he awoke, he was tied to a chair. A severe-looking woman, whom he recognized as the Ambassador, stood in front of him, holding a belt threateningly. "WHAT were you doing with my daughter?"

Steven was scared, so he tried to be respectful "Um, mam, I just helped her when she was drowning, but, um, we landed on the wrong side of the river. So, we rested and ate and then we-"

She cut him off. "I see. Did you know she was the ambassador's child when you 'helped her'? And how did you get to the other side, if she is unable to swim?"

"Yes, I did know, but I would've helped anybody. And I tied her to my... horse and he crossed with her riding on his back."

Priyanka definitely took note of his pause, because she immedietly said "Where's this horse now?"

"He's probably wande-"

"Mom!" Connie was in the doorway. "Stop questioning him. You know by now we both said the same things on what we did!"

"The ambassador turned to her, "You go back to your room right now, young lady."

"No! Leave him alone." Connie gave him a wink that her mother somehow didn't see. "All he really wants is a warm bed to sleep in and some food, and he'll go in the morning."The ambassador turned to him, and he nodded his head yes in a very excited manner. "Mam, I'll be out of your hair by tomorrow."

Dinner was a cold, quiet affair, without much conversation. They went to bed around nightfall, and the only noises to be heard was the occasional wind or snore. Steven thought he heard a faint but beautiful melody that sounded like a vielle, but sort of different.

Steven had been dreaming about a tall lady talking with a rabbit, fox and frog when his mouth was covered. Awakened immediately, his eyes shot open. He licked the hand covering his mouth.

Connie nearly shrieked, but then held a finger over her lips, and slowly uncovered his mouth. "We need to get out of here." Steven cocked an eyebrow. "Why? I'll be leaving tomorrow?"

Connie sat down on the bed right next to him. "I have to get out of here. My mother is stifling. My dad is no help. The guards have been told not to talk to me, and anyone that I meet around my age is either too shy to talk to me or I'm too shy to talk to them. To put it plainly, I'm bored and lonely."

"Have you thought this all out? You won't live very comfortably. I have a limited amount of money. And sometimes food can be hard to get."

She stared straight into his eyes. "Yes." She looked away again. "I have packed my savings, I have a horse, and I have some hard tack."

"Hmmm!".

"Steven!" She stage whispered.

"Fine. Only if you answer my question and... um... Lick your hand!" Steven just wanted to annoy her.

"Only if you answer my question."

"Damn!" She blinked. He shrugged. "Get used to the cursing. Anyways, Deal."

They shook, without the hand that he had licked. "I'll ask first." Connie said after licking her palm. "Why are you on this trip to the city? I know you are going to see Amethyst, but I feel as though there's something else."

He sighed. "My mom was Rose Hood. Because of that, the Diamonds decided that me and my father, who was alive until the sheriff shot him a few months ago, were tax evaders. So now I have to pay 3000 guineas in 3 years." Her eyes widened. "Yeah. So, while passing through the town closest to my house, I realized something; the Diamonds don't care for the people. And then when the Sheriff announced the Princess's plans to take MY forest, it was the last straw. I'm going take the throne.

Connie stared at him a little while, and said "How?". He told her.

She nodded and slid off the bed. He gathered his possessions and followed, quietly, to the stables, where her horse Archimicarus was. Lion meandered in, and Steven stuffed his things into the saddle bags. They rode out into the sunrise.

It was quiet, except for the occasional birdsong or broken twig. Steven didn't really like the silence between them. Finally, nearly driven mad by nervousness, he initiated a conversation. "Are you regretting coming with me? Because if you are, I don't mind if you turn back. Maybe you should. It's probably going to get very dangerous. I don't know when we'll make it back, if we even do. Yeah, let's turn back. I'm sure your mom will understa-"

Connie cut him off. "No, goofball. I want to come with you. Just promise me something."

"What?"

Her voice softened. "If you really do rise to power, let my Mom stay an ambassador. She does her best"

"Ok." He shrugged. "I'm going to ask my question now. "Why me?" She shot him a confused look. "I mean, you could have set out on your own. Why did you choose me to go with? I mean, not that I'm complaining or anything. It's just, I heard a beautiful melody last night, and I think it was coming from your room's direction, and it was amazing, and you have a life ahead of you, and, uh, yeah."  
She blushed slightly. "Thanks, Steven. I was playing a Morin Khuur, imported from Mongolia. And it's because I didn't really have a reason before. I never had a friend."

There was an awkward silence for a few seconds, but then both equines farted.

Their laughs echoed through the forest, refreshing and relieved.

* * *

It had been 2 weeks since they had set out from Connie's house. Word hadn't reached this part of the country that she was missing, so it was a relatively quiet trip. Until they reached London.

The city was a bustling mass, loud, dirty, and personal. There was several times where they got stepped on (they had to lead the horses, as an offical started yelling at them), or sneezed upon. Steven's shoe got spat on. He and the person flipped each other mutual birds.

When Connie and him finally reached a quieter part of the city, they sat down and allowed the horses to graze.

"You come here every year? That must be awful!"

"Sort of. But there are some nice parts. The queen has a large flock of swans, and they are fun to draw. Then there is the library! It has books about ancient wizards and their familiars, and of astronomy and medicine. It's really cool. Then there is my painting tutor. She had some paintings bought by the Royal gallery, but she is not snobbish about it. She'll give lessons to anyone. Her name's Vidalia. She is really nice but has a weird little kid named Oni-"

"Did you say Vidalia?!"

"Yeah, why?"

"She was the best friend of Amethyst back home! They left town together when Vidalia got pregnant with Sour Cream. Maybe she'll know where Amethyst is!"

They high-fived. "Yeah hah hah!" After lunching, they made their way to her house, by the river Thames. They knocked on the door. A lady with grey-blonde hair answered the door. "Connie! How are you? Who's this young man?" They hugged.

"This is Steven. And I'm good, how about you?"

Vidalia ushered them in, talking all the while and sitting them at a comfortable couch. "Would you like some tea?"

Steven finally spoke up. "No thanks. I'm Steven Universe, adoptive brother of Amethyst."

Her eyes widened. "Wow! Last time I saw you, you were 13! How's your father?"

"Dead. Yellow Diamond got him"

Oh." She quietened. "So, uh, do you have any questions, or something?"

He nodded. "Do you know where Amethyst is? Because I have to talk to her."

Vidalia sat down. "Yup! I still paint her sometimes. But she is probably at Beach City, a bar not far from here. Good food, and the entertainment is... Interesting."

"Can you take us there?" Connie spoke up.

"Of course! But not until midnight. She works the graveyard shift. Why don't you both go rest. I'm sure it has been a long journey. Come upstairs."

She led them to their rooms, and Steven fell right asleep.

He awoke to Vidalia shaking him. "Wake up! Time to go!"

They walked to a 'less presentable' part of the city, still by the water. Finally, they stopped by a large building. 'DEWEY'S BEACH CITY. entertainment of all kinds, rooms for rent, food and drink to consume.' It looked a little seedy.

When they went inside, it looked nearly exactly as Steven expected. Except for the cage and the stage in the middle, it was dark, loud, crowded, and smelly.

A lady came up to them and seated them by the cage, promising them drinks. An hour past, and they didn't come.

"Where's Amethyst?" Steven finally asked.

"Oh, she'll be out in a few minutes or so. They'll announce her stage name, and her opponent and-"

"Opponent?!" Steven nearly shrieked. 'What the heck is she doing?'

"Yeah. She's- oh wait. They'll announce her now." A lady stepped up to the small podium in front of the stage. Everyone quietened.

In a large, rolling voice, she yelled: "Goodnight, ladies and gentlemen! It's time for" she paused, "The Midnight Brawl!" The crowd roared.

"Tonight, in honor of our tenth anniversary, we have gotten a rival restaurant's champion, Bill Illuminatum," A man dressed in yellow, with an eyepatch, stepped out. Nearly half the bar roared."To fight our resident champion, the Purple Wildcat!"

The rest of the bar roared as Amethyst stepped out, wearing a barmaid's outfit with a purple ribbon in it. Several ladies in the crowd cooed like they were very jealous.

Connie turned to Steven. "You didn't tell me she was a wrestler!" She said accusingly.

Steven stared at Amethyst. "I didn't know."

* * *

 **Hard tack- a sort of biscuit to bring on trips. Often described as tasteless and hard as stone.**

 **Bill Illuminatum- Bill Cipher reference :)**

 **Note: Until the mid 1800's, purple dye was made out of certain crushed snails and bugs. Let's just say purple was a serious status symbol.**

 **As always, constructive criticism and comments are appreciated, and I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I will try to have another chapter up by, not the Saturday coming up, but the one after. Goodbye! :)**


	3. Amethyst

Chap 3

Steven watched Amethyst thrash the man in the yellow suit. He vaguely remembered her wrestling with the village boys, but not like this. She jumped around the cage, flipping off the walls and knocking the man over and over again. She was powerful.

Eventually, the man stayed down for ten seconds, and Amethyst won. The bar went wild. Steven just put his head on the table.

After a round of drinks went around (Steven and Connie declined. Vidalia shrugged and took one.) Steven saw Amethyst go to the back of the bar. He motioned to the rest of his little group and went back there as well.

He knocked on her door, which said 'Amethyst' in big block letters. "What?"

"Hi, Amethyst, may I come in?"

"Who're you?" She slurred her words a bit. Someone dropped a glass behind Steven, but he didn't care.

"It's Steven, and some friends."

The door swung open immediately. Amethyst held a foaming beer mug in her hands. "Steven! Wow! Long time no see!" She hugged him, sloshing some beer onto Connie, who squeaked and moved back. "Come in! Come in!"

Her room was a mess. Connie be lined to the only surface without dirty clothes on it, ironically the cabinet. Vidalia just sat down on the couch. Steven opted to stand. Amethyst sprawled out onto her bed. Steven wasn't sure whether there was blankets on there or just lots of clothes. They, if not the bar, were quiet for a moment.

Finally, Amethyst prompted, "So, how's Greg? He okay?"

Steven stopped staring into space. "My Dad is dead."

"Oh."

"Sheriff Diamond killed him."

"Oh."

"The government needs to be changed. And I want help doing that. I thought that you might know where the other Merry Gems are, and maybe some other good fighters as well. Can you join us?"

"Oh."

Connie looked a little peeved out. "Is that all you're going to say?! Oh?! This is a serious question."

Amethyst just turned on her bed, away from them. "You guys just dumped all this news on me. What am I supposed to do?!"

"Say yes or no!"

"I have it good here! Free food, free drink, free board and a job I like!"

Vidalia spoke up. "But this isn't you! Where's the girl who loved adventure? Where's the girl who got me away from Marty? You sit in here and load yourself with beer. Steven, who is basically your brother, came here asking for help. Only a few years ago, you would've been on your horse before he told you where you'd be going. Where is the Amethyst I know and Love? Where's my best friend?!"

Amethyst turned around again and sat up. "What happened to you?! A few years ago, you were fun. We used to spend nearly everyday together. Now all you do is paint and act motherly toward your new family!" She sighed. "Just leave me alone."

When none of them moved, she threw her now empty mug at their faces. "Go away!"

They walked out and headed to Vidalia's. Steven was disappointed. He didn't say anything until he got to the house. "I'm going to bed." Vidalia and Connie shot him a concerned look, but he didn't react and went to bed.

* * *

He awoke with Vidalia's ten year old son, Onion, staring at him from above. "What?" The child continued staring. "What?!"

Onion his mouth up, as if to speak, but then threw a rock, purple-gray in appearance, at Steven's stomach, and ran out the door. Steven leapt up and chased him down the hallway. He then ran into Amethyst, and fell on his butt.

She helped him up, and then took a step back, crossing her arms. "So, um, sorry for last night. I was a bit tired."

He smiled up at her. An apology was better than nothing. "It's ok."

"No, it's not. Listen, I'm past the part of the day I spend hungover now, and so I've thought about a few things. If you can make me a better offer than what I have now, I'll go."

"Why don't we go and have," he looked out the window. It looked about noon "lunch, and we can talk this over." She nodded and they headed downstairs.

Inside, Steven's mind was racing. _'What can I offer her?'_

When they got downstairs, Onion was playing dolls with Connie as if he hadn't thrown a rock at him a few minutes ago. Vidalia handed them some bread and porridge.

They sat around for a while, Connie occasionally glancing at the two. She raised her eyebrows at him, as if to say, 'Get on with it'. Steven figured she already knew about the deal.

After a REALLY long silence, Steven finally said,"Okay, Amethyst. I don't have anything to offer you right now. I may never will. But I can tell you this. We can continue what my Mom, Rose, worked for. And maybe get a little money on the way."

She raised her eyebrow at him.

"Okay, and maybe I also want a little revenge for my Dad. In any case," he said, raising his voice, "I have an idea, a wager if you will." Here he winked at Connie. She had taught him that word a week ago. "We will wrestle at Beach City, for your midnight brawl tonight. If I get you down for 10 seconds, you're coming with me. If you get me down for 10 seconds, then I'll go away."

Amethyst's eyes softened. "Aw, don't worry. You don't have to leave leave. Just don't ask me again. I like it here. Heck, if you guys decide to stay here, you and your little" she studied Connie for a second, "friend could stay with me."

Connie voiced both of their opinions. "No, thank you." She looked a little uncomfortable. Onion slapped her doll's face with his doll's hand, so she turned back to their little game.

Steven and Amethyst shook in it, and Vidalia sent her off.

"Steven," she said.

"Yeah?"

"There's something I want to show you."

She led him down to her basement, where she kept all her works in progress. On a pedestal was his mom's portrait. Mostly. There was part of his Dad's face in it, eating a sausage.

"I can't seem to get her nose right. But you have her nose, so I'm hoping maybe you could sit still and let me paint it?"

"Yeah, sure!" He hopped up on a stool. "How do you want my head?"

She tilted it for him, and after about an hour, she was done. He looked at his Mom's portrait.

"She really did look like me. Huh." He said.

"Yup. And now that we've done this, let me show you something.

It was a box. It smelled faintly of roses. "Your mom sent this to me years ago. I don't know how to open it, but I'm sure there's something important inside."

He thanked the woman and went upstairs. Connie stopped him.

"Hey, just wanted you to know, news of my disappearance have reached here. I'm going to have to put on a mask when I go out." She looked at the box. "What's that?"

"An old thing of my Mom's. I don't know how to open it, and neither does Vidalia. I was hoping you could."

"Sure. What do you think is inside?"

Steven had not thought of this. "A treasure map!" He yelled. Connie gave him a pained look, because they were right next to each other.

"Yes, maybe. I'll work on it." She turned away. Steven shrugged and walked outside. ' _I might as well stretch.'_

* * *

Steven stepped up into the cage. He was wearing some loose pants and a loose shirt.

"And here to fight our reigning champ, is Steven Universe! He and the Purple Wildcat have made a wager! If she gets him down on the mat for ten seconds, he leaves! If he gets her down for ten seconds, then she has to come with him!"

Immediately, the crowd went wild. Only not in a good way. Some were shouting about how they were going to court her, some saying they'd beat Steven themselves. Most were saying "Boo!"

Amethyst leaned over to Steven. "I have a large fan base. Wherever this match goes, you might want to leave quickly." She smirked.

After is quieted slightly, the match was started. Amethyst immediately leaped onto his head, crossing her legs around his neck and picking at her nails, literally saying "Ho-hum".

After a minute or so of this, he got her off by stumbling around, like a drunk. She had lost her grip. But then she bounced up a wall, and made a raspberry towards him.

He chased her around like this for a while, until she leapt onto him again, sitting on his stomach, pinning him to the floor. She grinned at him. The crowd joined her on this one. "1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8"

He then grabbed her and flipped her over his head, and stood up. The crowd groaned. Steven flipped them the bird.

Amethyst started her bouncing around the ring routine again. It was like she was a ball of purple. Eventually, she pulled what he heard was her most signature trick: 'The Hangman's Dream'. This was where she'd hold onto the cage's top with her arms, and then drop down on her opponent. "Sorry, Steven!"

Steven had a feeling that something bad was going to happen. "Don't, Amethyst! You're going to hurt yourself."

Amethyst laughed, and replied "Don't worry, Steven." She let go, and he moved out the way. Unfortunately, she only let go with 1 hand. She cursed, and fell to the bottom, he arm at a funny angle behind her. The announcer counted ten seconds. And then twenty.

The cage's door opened, the announcer entering. "I think she has broken her arm!" Vidalia and Connie rushed over.

"I know a apothecary who can wrap it up." Vidalia stated.

A carriage was called, and they rushed towards the apothecary. Steven looked at the very pale, sweating wrestler beside him.

"It's just dislocated. I can fix it. My mom taught me, when Peedee dislocated his arm. "

Vidalia shook her head. "You were three. Leave this to the professionals." Connie shot him a sympathetic look.

When Vidalia's head was turned, her grabbed her arm, stuck a pillow in her mouth, and put the arm back in it's socket.

"Steven!" Vidalia gasped. "You probably just made it worse! And get that pillow out of her mouth! Who knows how many people have farted on that!" As she said this, the carriage pulled to a stop in front of the apothecary's shop.

They rushed her in there, where the man immediately asked for 2 guineas. Connie pulled exact change out of Amethyst's pocket. He then proclaimed that there was nothing wrong with her arm, but she might want to get some bed rest.

Connie patted his back as they walked back to that carriage. "Don't worry," she assured. "I believe you. " and then hugged him.

Amethyst tapped Steven on his shoulder."Ste-man, you owe me for this."

Steven shrugged. "Okay. I owe you a solid.

Amethyst winked at him and then dramatically slumped across her seat. Vidalia just said, "All's well that ends well, I suppose. Congratulations on winning the match, Steven. Let's go to bed as soon as we get to my home."

No one objected to her suggestion.

* * *

The next day, Amethyst told them of how when she had last seen Ruby and Sapphire twenty years ago, when she had been 13 and Vidalia 15, they had been in heading to Iceland.

"Where's that?" Steven asked.

"It's a territory of Denmark." Connie explained. Steven gave her a blank face. She rolled her eyes. "It's a Viking place. "

His eyes widened. "Wow!"

Amethyst confirmed this. "Yup. Apparently, they wanted to have a kid, and Sapphire got a vision telling them to go to the 'land of lava and ice, where you will find someone who can help you.'

Connie frowned. "Visions? And why did they want a kid?"

Steven turned to her. "Oh, sorry, I guess I forgot to tell you. Anyways, Sapphire comes from a long line of gypsy diviners. She and Ruby are lovers." Connie blushed at the word. "So they wanted a family of their own, and were willing to leave the Merry Gems to get a child of theirs. My Mom had suggested them just adopting a child, but then Sapphire said something cryptic like, "Your child will need my child." And apparently Pearl wanted to go, too, but my mo-"

"Hey Steven! Information overload!" Amethyst exclaimed. "By the way, why don't we just go to Pearl first? She's in Scotland, after all.

"You know where she is? Why didn't you tell me?"

"I'm sorry!" Amethyst replied, holding her arms out in front of herself. "I don't know where exactly she is, and honestly she's be hard to find. Do you know how many red haired people are in Ireland?"

Steven and Connie shook their heads no.

"Well, a lot! But if we go up north, it'll probably easier. There isn't a lot of people who AREN'T blonde up there, if you catch my drift. Even with the new merchant routes. Someone will surely remember Ruby, at least. I bet she started a brawl or two. Then, with Sapphire's power, we could probably find Pearl really fast."

Connie nodded her head. "That does make sense, Steven. Also, it'll be cheaper."

Steven didn't argue with Connie's statement. If she said it, it had to be true. Also, he was a little nervous to be facing Pearl. _How will she react to me?_

* * *

Vidalia tearfully dropped Steven, Connie, and Amethyst off at the shipyard, after she had a long, tearful conversation with Amethyst. They waved goodbye to her as she walked off into the distance.

Connie turned to the other two. "Steven!"

He mock-saluted. "Yes, mam!"

"You will find a cheap ship willing to take us at least to Iceland. It will have to be cheap and able to hold horses. Amethyst, go get yourself a horse." The woman ran to the nearest horse vendor. "I will go see an apothecary."

"Why?"

"My eyesight has improved, which is weird, since about two weeks ago. Also, my heart has been having these weird palpitations since then, as well. "

"Oh. Well, if you do find out that your sick, let me know. After all, I licked your hand, and then you licked that hand, so maybe you caught it from me." He chuckled, and then clutched his chest dramatically. "In fact," he wheezed. "I have been feeling funny heartbeats as well. Oh no, I am dead." He fell to the ground.

Connie giggled, and he grinned up at her. She pulled him up. "You'd be a great jester. "

"Thanks." She got on Archimicarus soon after.

Steven wandered around the port, occasionally stopping Lion to ask passerby about a cheap, horse-ready ship heading North. No one knew of one.

Steven got off of Lion to sit on a crate to rest. Unfortunately for him, the crate started talking to him.

"Let...me...Out!"

* * *

 **Hi! Sorry for the lame ending! But I promise, someone VERY interesting is in that box.**

 **Lady Shadow92- Thank you very much! I had to change Amethyst's name because Pumas are American, and America hasn't been 'discovered' yet. She will, however, change it to 'Purple Puma' later in the story. Garnet will be in the story, but that will also be a little late on.**

 **I would just like to say, while Amethyst's changes of mind are a bit erratic in this chapter, feel like that she is the kind of person who often grows to regret their decisions, so she'll often change her mind.**

 **Let me know if you think there is any changes to me made to the story, or if it is in need of any corrections, or even if the chapters should be shorter. I am trying to make this seem as medieval as possible, but I am certainly not an expert, so any advice is appreciated.**

 **Anyways, thank you all for your kind reviews and I hope you all have a good next two weeks! :)**


	4. Lapis

Chapter 4 Steven immediately jumped off the box. "Holy shit!" He exclaimed. "Get me out! Please!" The box replied. It was definitely a Scottish accent, and it was definitely in pain. Steven looked around for a crow bar, but found none. The box hissed in pain. "How?" "Look on the bottom. I think there is a keyhole or something. On the bottom." "I'm going to have to flip this over." "Okay... But be gentle." He turned the box over on its side, and whoever was in there hissed in pain. There were some noises like glass tinkling. There was a keyhole, with a key in it. Unfortunately, the key would not budge. Whenever he tried to pull it out, the person inside screamed with pain. He was getting looks from the crowd, so he just smiled weakly, and, as gently as he could, dragged the box into a alleyway. "Why in hell won't the key move?" He cursed aloud. "I think... It's stuck to the tar on my back. When they turned the key in here, I felt a burning sensation touch my back." "Would I be able to pull it off without much more pain for you?" "Probably not. But it's the only way to get it off... Here he heard a sound like glass shattering. The person groaned. "I can't reach around and cut it off. Just... Do it quickly. At least the burn was so bad I can't feel it anymore." "Why don't I just cut the box open?" "It's made of some really thick wood and my captors will probably be coming back soon." "Oh, ok." Steven was unsure how to do it. "Um... Do you want me to count down or just rip it off." "Count, please." "1...2...3...4...5" a wretched rip sounded throughout the alley. The box person screamed bloody murder. Amazingly, no one came over to see. The key turned, and Steven opened the lid. Inside was a black-haired, tan woman, who was lying pitifully on broken mirror shards. Steven could only gasp in surprise and horror. The woman's voice was weaker than before, probably because of the amount of flesh that was just pulled off. "Thanks..." He stared at her pitiful form for a moment, and then remembered himself. "Don't get any more shards in you," he said as calmly as he could, even though there were several in her feet, and probably a hundred throughout her body. Sparkly glass dust lit up her hair. As gently as he could, he lifted the weak body out of the box and laid her across his shoulder as he picked some glass out of her foot. There was luckily none on her stomach or chest, as she had kept those protected. Once he was done, he set her lightly upon her feet. The woman looked up with gratitude in her eyes. "Thank you." "No prob, Bob." "My name is Lapis Lazuli." Steven widened his eyes. She did look to be the right age. "You're the Dread Pirate Lazuli?! The Hebridean Robber who stole a thousand treasure chests and the Scottish Plunderer who sunk 99 ships of the Armada?!" "Yup. 'Tis me." She wheezed. He had forgotten about the shard on her toe. After it was pulled out, he put her arm around his shoulders, so it would be easier for her to walk. "Where's your ship? I'll take you there." "Find me a ship that is unmanned, and I can take you anywhere you want." Steven raised his eyebrow at the sudden change of conversation. "I heard you asking for a ride. I currently don't have a ship, but it is easy to take one. My crew was the one who locked me in the box. Apparently, my prize money is worth more than they could resist." "How much?" "About 10,000 guineas." Steven whistled, loud and low. "Wow." "Yeah. But you won't turn me in, right?" "Not if you can steer a ship and promise not to kill me or my friends in our sleep. Also, no piracy when me and my friends are on the ship." She saluted to him. "Pirates honor, sir." He shrugged and gently set her down again, so she could pick out some more glass shards. Surprisingly, her wounds were healing fast. The shards hadn't been deep, just dangerous to touch. Her biggest problem soon would just be the hole in her back. "Once I'm done, let's go steal a ship. _ "By the way," Captain Lapis said as they crouched behind a barrel, peering out at a ship that was seemingly unmanned, "What's your name?" He turned to her. "Steven Quartz Hood, son of Gregory Hood-" "The bard?" He nodded his head. Her eyes widened. "I loved his rendition of 'Riptide Queen'! Please tell him that I'm flattered he named it after me." Steven nodded, unsure of whether or not he should mention that his father is dead. "Who is your mother?" She whispered excitedly. "Lady Rose Quartz Hood." Captain Lapis tilted her head at him. She chuckled to herself, slightly. "So... What do we do now?" Steven finally asked, after a very long pause. "Oh! Well, you are going to calmly walk away from here when I finish telling you the plan. The key to running away, or doing anything illegal, really, is walking like you know where you're going and no one should have a problem with that. Anyway, you go get your friends. I'll continue casing the ship. When it's dark out, we'll knock out, quietly, whatever people are still on there, drag them out, and calmly sail away. You guys can help me run the ship" Steven shrugged, and went to go find his friends. Amethyst was haggling for a rusty brown mare with a sign on it that said 'Train.' Steven wasn't sure whether that referred to the fact is was trained, or whether it was a good horse to have in a train of horses, but in any case he slapped down a few extra coins, shut up the dealer, and dragged Amethyst and the horse away. Connie was inside an apothecary, and was talking with the owner. She was blushing a LOT, but before Steven could hear what she was hearing the owner shut up. Amethyst was totally cool with the plan. "I've worked on some boats." Connie, however, was nervous. "Steven! You barely know her name! We can't trust her!" "It's the only chance we have." Connie gave him the evil eye as if to say "If something bad happens, you're taking the blame." Surprisingly, there was absolutely no one on the ship. It looked like they had gone out to a party, due to the rushed looking cleaning job and the loud noises coming from a bar nearby. They made it out of the harbor quickly. They dunked Lapis in the water , to clean the wounds. Somehow, despite all the salt in her wounds, she seemed invigorated. She was fidgeting in her bed, which was where the previous captain had slept, judging from the fancy clothes. Amethyst was quickly given the job of manning the crow's nest and the rigging, and before Lapis could heal, the wheel as well. Steven became the cleaner, surprisingly, as he was strong enough to clean out the stables below deck, and was able to lift the cargo to clean underneath as well. Connie was in charge of laundry, nursing the occasional wound that wasn't Lapis (though she took care of the captain as well), and cooking. At night Steven and her had to look for potential holes in the hull. Amethyst got the first mate's cabin, and Connie and Steven had to share the Galley. On a sunny day when Lapis was finally able to stand, Steven asked the Captain why she was in a box full of mirror shards. "Well, I told you that I have a large bounty on my head, correct? Well, my crew couldn't find a rope to tie me with, and so stuck me in a box full of ornate mirrors, and stuck the key to me. The initial pain of the tar cause me to kick out and hit the mirrors." Steven stared at her. "That's it?" Lapis shrugged. "Oh." The voyage was pretty quiet on the way to Iceland. It got colder, but they had supplies and anyway, it was summer. There wasn't even any storms, aside from the occasional drizzle. The trip in the new ship was mostly uneventful. That is, it was in the daytime. Steven soon found out that Lapis sleepwalked. It was interesting to watch her. She would go up onto the deck, and make weird gestures at the water with her hands, as if she was expecting it to do something. Sometimes she would hold onto the wheel, not steering, and stare blankly ahead. Occasionally she'd scurry up the mast and sit among the rigging, but that was pretty rare. One time he tried to wake her up, but all she did was stare blankly ahead, her eyes wide but milky, unseeing, until he touched the burn on her back. She freaked out and screamed, and when she was fully awake she slapped him. "You aren't supposed to wake a sleepwalker!" She angrily said to him. "I'm sorry Captain." He said as he rubbed his cheek. It was better to call her Captain when she was angry. "I didn't know." "Yeah, well, just don't do it again. Otherwise I'll make you walk the plank, and trust me, there are some animals who would definitely like you for dinner." Another night, he saw Lapis actually prepare the plank, and then walk out on it. She bounced it a few times, and it looked like she was about to dive. In a way, it was sort of beautiful. It was a full moon night, stars piercing into the sky, her silhouette poised across the full moon. Her hair looked blue in the light, and it looked like she was just going to take off and fly away. Of course, he knew that wasn't what was going to happen. Steven had to literally run onto the plank and yank her back. He wondered who used to do this before she met him. It didn't sound like she had a good crew to look after her. She woke up and shrieked, and ran back onto the ship. Steven had never heard a grown woman shriek like that before. Sure, the village women cried whenever their husbands were taken away, but they were never in fear of their own life. Once she had calmed down a bit, she thanked him and took the plank down. "You know," she sighed, sitting down next to him on the deck. "This is the third time in my life I've been saved by a Hood." "But I've only saved you twice." Steven was confused. Lapis gave a small chuckle. "Your mother did, once." "Huh?" "Let me tell you a story." _ "Thirty years ago, when I was 21, I lived in the Hebrides, in the Clan of Gailbraith. The ruling family had a fairly large island we called Garden Island, for all that could grow, grew there. I didn't know who my fa was. My ma would sometimes say he was a passing peddler, or a prisoner in the dungeons, and many other ones. My favorite, which she told the least, was that he was a sea-nymph who could only come on land for a day once every 10 years. But with or without a father, I was happy. The lord was kind to me, his Lady passed many years ago. He was an old gentleman, who treated us well. But one day he downed a drink, went to bed, and died in his sleep, a peaceful end for a peaceable lord. Then his son came to power. The son, Hamish, was not at all like his father. Stingy and cruel, even at 19, he whipped many people for spilling a cup, and did worse as well. No one was spared, not even children or ladies with child. I was able to stay out of his way, as I was cooking staff. Unfortunately, he visited the kitchens in a horrible temper. A bug had been found in his soup. Screaming about how someone wanted to kill and overthrow him, and the like. There was a plot! He said. An older daughter. He saw me then, cowering against the other cooks, and grinned. He grabbed my hair. "Who is your father?" He asked. I told him I didn't know. He laughed. "Oh really? Have you ever thought why no one on the island has hair as dark as OURS?" I told him my fa was a probably a fisherman. He just laughed and grabbed me, and threw me into the oubliette. It was true that no one else had black hair on Garden Island, but it wasn't like it was uncommon outside of the island, and there was a busy port on the west side, where my ma once lived. But nevertheless, that man was crazy. I lay there for many days, not starving because the other servants would give me breakfast and dinner scraps, and water as well. But it was a miserable, damp life. They couldn't let me out for fear of angering the lord. I guess one day Hamish had a big party of some sort, because on the 134th day, there was new voices, in different accents. I called out, many times, but if anyone heard me they didn't care. After about 3 days of festivities, I gave up and stayed quiet. I resigned myself to the face of living and dying in the dank oubliette. I started refusing food and drink. I had decided that I would starve or die of thirst. No one really cares. In fact, I thought I heard the other servants whisper it 'was easier this way.' On the day that was probably going to be my last, someone ran over the grate covering the oubliette. They must have been curious, because a girl opened it and looked down at me. She had strange, pink hair, and a round, welcoming face. She was very big, because her face covered half of the hole. "Hello." I waved my hand at her but couldn't say anything. I was too parched. "Let me get you some water. You must be thirsty. " The girl ran off, shouting "Pearl!" Like she was calling someone. Eventually she came back with a whole tankard of water, and another girl, a little older than her. She was skinny and gangly, but looked like she's grow up to be graceful and slender. The first girl lowered the water to me, with some bread, and I couldn't refuse. The skinny girl looked mildly disgusted. "Rose, we should leave her alone. She's probably a criminal." "Pearl, what do you think she did? Stolen a fork? Anyway, as daughter of the ONLY merchant that does business with this island anymore, I think I can do this." She picked me up out of the oubliette. "You can stow away on my father's ship. Go say goodbye to your family, if there is one." I did what she bid me to and the next day, we left. I later learned she was Lady Rose Quartz. " _ "Huh." "Yup." _ They sailed into a port with a name that Steven couldn't pronounce. Something like, Esjekyllnhyd. Lots of vowels. Connie, of course, spoke Danish. They found an old, old fisherman, hands bent from handling nets, whiskers down to his knees, head as bald as an egg and more shiny. "He says that a while ago, a black lady and a gypsy lady passed through, looking for a passage West." "How'd he remember one couple for 2 decades? Are you sure he's not messing with us? And I thought there's no land farther than here? That you'd just end up going off the side of the world" Steven asked. Connie started putting her hair into a queue, a nervous habit he had noticed her doing more and more. She turned back to the man. "He says they were the first lesbian couple he'd seen, and that there is an old legend, of a Great man named Erik the Red, who sailed West and ended up in a land full of Skraelings." Seeing his blank face, she sighed and said, "Inhabitants of the strange land." "Ask him where the grub is, and let's go. Lapis wants to leave as soon as possible!" Amethyst yelled from the deck of the ship. She was in charge of gathering supplies. When Connie asked, the man sold them some fish of indeterminable quality and gave them vague directions to the nearest store to freshwater. Steven just shivered. 'How far will we have to go to find Sapphire and Ruby?' _ I am SO sorry for being late! I have no legitimate excuses. Hebridean-Hebrides- demonym for the North Scottish islands Demonym: word for nationality or ethnicity or a group you belong to. Example: English, African American, Muslim, Stonemason Starboard: if you are looking to the front of a ship or aircraft, this'll be on your right side. Headcanon: Since snot is mucus, and it's sort of like spit, do you think if Steven from the show sneezed on someone, they'd heal? Sorry it's yucky but I was just curious on all of your opinions on that. Queue- a braid that goes down your back. Like Katniss Skraeling: Viking name for Native Canadians. The sleepwalking: if that is not how it works I apologize. I have no personal experience to that extent. Oubliette- A small dungeon to forget people in. No torturing, but no bail either. You just thrown them in and leave. I know I may have changed Lapis a lot, but I feel like she is a strong person, who, if she had been given a little help when she was younger, could've possibly been like this. Anyways, thank you for the reviews, and I hope you all have a good next two weeks! 


	5. Snow in July

"So where are we heading?" Lapis asked as soon as they loaded the supplies onto the ship.

Connie turned towards the setting sun. "That way."

"I'm... Going to have to have better directions than that." The Captain set her lips into a tight line.

"We don't know. All he said was go West, like Erik the Red." Steven replied. Lapis gave them a raised eyebrow, but before she could say anything, Amethyst ran aboard and pulled the plank up.

"We need to go!" She said breathlessly.

"Why?" Steven was confused. _There doesn't seem to be any immediate danger._

"While you guys were traveling to London, and while you were in London, Ambassador Priyanka literally sent a warrant to every country in this area."

Steven and Connie were shocked. "And that's not all. It's backed by the Sheriff of Nottingham, so it's real business." She held up a poster.

It said Wanted: Constance Marian Mahaswaren, returned safely to her mother for 10,000 guineas. Was kidnapped by one Steven Quartz Hood.

Wanted: Steven Quartz Hood, returned to the Sheriff of Nottingham for 5000 guineas. Dead or Alive. Has been sighted with Amethyst Terran, also known as the Purple Wildcat. Information is also appreciated and will be rewarded.

Underneath were their portraits.

"They didn't get my nose right!" Steven cried.

"Yeah! Your nose isn't **that** upturned!" Connie said, smirking.

"Hey!" Connie poked him. He poked her back. They giggled. Lapis just gave them a Look.

She turned to other adult on the ship. Amethyst was picking her nose, and was also eating her boogers. When Lapis caught her eye, Amethyst said "What?" Lapis just facepalmed.

"Anyway," Lapis finally said, stressing the syllables. "This means we need to leave straight away. This is not exactly the most wealthy area of the world. I'm sure many people would like that sort of money." She took the poster and ripped it into small pieces, and then handed it to Steven to take down to the fire fuel pile.

They left immediately after they loaded up supplies. It progressively got colder, and Steven wondered why ANYONE would want to live up here, but there was no one to answer him.

* * *

"Why exactly are we heading to this 'land of Skraelings' when you said that Sapphire got a vision about a land of Ice and Fire, which is back that way?" Amethyst jerked her thumb towards Iceland, already hundreds of miles away. "And how did you know about it but not me? I actually knew Sapphire and Ruby."

"I said they'd meet someone who could help them get a kid. Not that they'd have the kid there. From what that old guy said back in Esjek- I mean assjack..."

"Esjekyllnhyd" Connie said as she walked by the kitchen with some clean laundry.

"Yes! That! Anyways, they probably found the helpful person somewhere around there. The person probably pointed them West. And I knew about the whole prophecy thing because Dad told me." Steven finished.

"Oh." She harrumphed, "I never heard anything about it.

* * *

After a week of more sailing, it snowed.

"It's not FAIR!" Amethyst cried. "It's fucking July. Just who is the asshole who comes up with this shitty weather?!"

"No one does, Amethyst. It just happens when you go North." Connie said, evenly. Steven snuck up beside her, a snowball in his glove.

He wrapped his arm around her and smushed the snowball in Connie's giggling face. "Yeah Amethyst, didn't you know?"

Amethyst groaned. "Ugh, you guys are all the same. Lapis is literally standing in ice barefoot."

"And you know why?" The Captain said. She didn't let Amethyst respond. "It's because you didn't clean up that water jug you dropped last night!" She threw a chunk of ice at Amethyst's head.

Amethyst literally shrieked and ducked for cover. "I run a tight ship! Ice ruins the floorboards, you little shit!" The Captain was furious.

Meanwhile, Steven and Connie were laughing so hard they literally bent over from the stomach pain. After a few minutes, they quieted, out of breath, though Amethyst and Lapis were still fighting, albeit one sidedly. Amethyst had left her whips downstairs.

"You can take your arm of my shoulders now." Connie said.

Steven's eyes widened, and he apologized. She just told him it was ok. There was an awkward moment of silence when Amethyst suddenly yelled, "Land! Land! Land ho!

She was at a safe distance from the still fuming captain, in the crow's nest. "Which way!?" Connie asked. She had told Steven several times that though she loves boats, ever since she fell out of one a few weeks back she'd PREFER to be on land. He could tell she was plenty excited.

"Starboard! It looks to be a rocky coast!"

There was a great big hurry on trying to roll the sails back up, and to throw the anchor down, so they wouldn't hit any rocks. As soon as the anchor hit the bottom of the sea floor, the panic, and the ship, stopped.

"Captain, what should we do now?" Steven asked Lapis as he went over to the wheel. Her face was a bit grim.

"Looks like you'll have to take the rowboat. I don't trust these waters, and it might take days to find a inlet or cove to safely stay in. We are also running out of fresh water."

"Okay. Are you going to be okay, with the whole," he made a walking motion with his fingers.

"I'll be fine. I can tie my foot to my bedpost. I probably won't be able to move much from there."

He shrugged. "I'll look for a stream or something. You can man the ship, and I'll ask Connie and Amethyst to come with me."

Both said yes, and Connie composed a checklist of what they should gather while Steven and Amethyst rowed towards land. "Water...vegetables... Fruit if possible...don't want scurvy."

Amethyst grunted. "Isn't that the thing where your body parts fall off?"

"No, that's leprosy. Scurvy is where you bleed in your mouth and all your scars and scabs open up. My... Mother... Told me all about it. It can be prevented with fruit, for some reason." Steven noted the tension in her voice when speaking about her mother.

To lighten the mood, Steven asked, "Hey Amethyst, what did Sapphire and Ruby look like? You remember them, right?"

"Yeah, but don't you know too? Greg used to tell us all the time."

"I don't know what they look like." Connie piped up.

"Hm, well, Sapphire was a short Romani woman, with full black hair and a startling blue eye.

"Eye?"

"Yeah. She was born with only one, right in the middle of her forehead. She was usually embarrassed about it, so she had thick bangs. But her eye was really beautiful. She had this way of looking at you, like she was looking at something past you."

"My Dad used to say it was because she could see the future." Steven added.

"Yeah. And Ruby's parents emigrated from Togo. They were smiths. Ruby had huge calluses on her hands, and she was really tough. She could make the finest things, though. Once, I saw her make a sheet of metal so fine, you could have used it as a page in a book. But anyway, she had a huge, squarish Afro, last I saw her, and big brown eyes."

"Huh."

It took them ten more minutes to reach shore, and by then Steven was exhausted. He flopped down in the sand. Amethyst was fine, of course. "You guys set up camp," she said as she walked away. "I'll find us some grub. I think it's time for some lunch. We'll look for water tomorrow."

"How are you supposed to catch anything? You only have your whips!" Connie called out to her.

"And?" Amethyst left.

"You better get up soon," she said to Steven as she tucked his cloak around him. "I am NOT cooking whatever Amethyst scrounges up. I hate cooking." She smiled and sat next to him, to watch the clouds roll by.

* * *

Hey guys! More apologies are in order. I'm sorry for being late again.

So, this is the first chapter to not introduce a new character. That is because I'm thinking of writing shorter chapters. I don't want to intimidate you guys with the length of my usual chapters, which I admit are pretty long. So I put a poll up (I don't know how it works though) to let you guys decide whether I should write shorter or longer. This chapter is a shorter example, so if it works for you guys, then I'm happy to comply. Less writing for me! :)

Anyways, I hope you all have a good next two weeks! See you in June! :)


	6. Puma

Amethyst was hoping to find some deer, or maybe some rabbits. She didn't know whether this weird place had those, but she was glad she saw some familiar things. She saw some wild strawberries, which she collected, and there were some pine trees as well. They were her favorite kind of tree, fast growing and sweet-smelling. It brought back (very) dim memories of back when her house had parents. _Well, more like memory._

* * *

Amethyst was born in a small village. She knew about that much. She also knew one day everybody got sick. Large swellings of pus appeared under armpits. The people tried to cover up their slow death by tucking flowers under their clothes.

Her parents were the last ones to succumb. She was about 3, she knew that. Her father laid, gaping and sweating, on the bed. Her mother was turning green. Amethyst was handed an apple, a jug of water, and a small note attached to her hood. Kissing her goodbye, her mother set her in the direction of the main road, and shut the door.

Rose said that she found Amethyst toddling down the road, right after she an Pearl were running from a heist. Amethyst remembers being scooped up by a large mass of Pink hair, and Pearl's voice reading out, "This is Amethyst, age 3. We have sent our baby girl out into the world so she won't have to die. Please take care of her." And that was the start of her life as Amethyst of the Merry Gems.

* * *

Amethyst hated thinking bout that stuff. _And I need to focus,_ she thought, as she realized she had been standing in the middle of the forest, just staring into space.

It was then she noticed a cat-like creature, about the size of a dog, looking straight at her. They mad eye contact, and it blinked at her. Then it looked at something behind her, and before she could turn around, Something etremely heavy pounced on her back, claws wrapping around her arms. She and the animal wrestled for a while, but when she was able, she climbed, high up, in a ttree. The animal came after her, but was too heavy to go up as far as she did.

As Amethyst's hear rate slowed down, she was able to study the creature. It was tan, with a long, tan and black tail. It had some grey markings on its face, and round ears, as well as a white underbelly. It was truly a magnificent creature.

It was also, apparently, a mother. She watched as it groomed, like a mother cat, two smaller versions of itself. The babies were VERY cute. _I guess I got in between the mother and her other baby._

"I'm going to call you guys Pumas." They were truly magnificent creatures She had heard of the Lion from Ruby, who said that they were from Africa,but these were surely way more interesting than a Lion. _Besides, Steven's horse hybrid was named Lion_. She wondered whether she could get one of the kittens, then decided against it. She did NOT want to see those claws again.

After about 15 minutes, the pumas wandered away. She shimmied down the tree, and went back to hunting. She caught 3 rabbits and a turtle. With the turtle she found a freshwater creek.

All in all, a successful day.

* * *

 **Hi guys, I am SO sorry. This chapter is really short, due to me losing my charger for a week. I only wrote this today.**

 **Note: Puma was the Incan word for Cougar/mountain lion/etc. I realize it would be extremely hard to write in an Incan person just randomly appearing in Canada, so I just decided that Amethyst should have the word pop into her head. I'm planning for her to change her wrestler name. :)**

 **I PROMISE I will write a longer chapter next time. Unless you guys like this size. Anyway, I hope you all had and will ahve a good next two weeks!**


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